Environment Ministry to implement new waste management system in Cairo

CAIRO – 31 May 2018: Environment Minister Khaled Fahmy announced Thursday that Cairo governorate is supplied with equipment worth LE 300 million to implement the new system of waste management which started in Kafr Al-Sheikh.

Egypt's Cabinet has approved recently the implementation of the new system in Kafr Al-Sheikh, Gharbiya, Qena and Assiut governorates, in collaboration with local authorities, the German Construction Bank and the European Union (EU).

As part of the new system, the Cabinet has also approved to establish a water treatment plant in Cairo’s Al-Wafaa Wal Amal.

Furthermore, Fahmy has participated recently in the new national initiative called, “Enough Plastic Bags”, by distributing 4,500 non-woven bags as alternatives to traditional non-recycled plastic bags. About 4,500 eco-friendly biodegradable plastic bags – bags that decompose through living organisms – have been circulated since the launch of the initiative.

The Ministry of Environment launched the EU-funded initiative on June 5, 2017, targeting Egypt’s strong dependency on plastic bags and aiming to reduce their use due to the negative effects they have on the environment and the economy.

The head of the Environmental Affairs Agency declared that Egyptians use about 12 billion plastic bags each year. The use of non-biodegradable plastic bags causes severe problems to the Nile River and the seas; hence, it negatively affects environmental tourism and diving.

on the sidelines of the International Day for Biological Diversity and World Environment Day (WED) celebrations, the Egyptian Ministry of Environment issued Wednesday a public invitation for an iftar gathering (the meal Muslims eat to break their fast) on June 1 in Wadi Degla protectorate.

The celebration will incorporate a fair for sports activities and photography, in addition to seminars about required skills to live in the desert. A fair for Bedouin handmade products will also be held, according to the ministry's statement.

Nations celebrate the World Environment Day on June 5 every year. The theme of this year’s WED is “Beat Plastic Pollution”, which is one of the biggest environmental challenges. According to statistics of the WED, 13 million tons of plastic leak into the oceans, and threaten marine life.